How Did John D. Rockefeller Treat His Employees?

John D. Rockefeller always treated his employees with fairness and generosity. He believed in paying his employees fairly for their hard work and often handed out bonuses on top of their regular salaries.

Rockefeller was America's first billionaire. After he finished school, he went to work for a Cleveland shipping firm and while he was there, he saved every cent he could. he eventually had enough money to start his own business and he found fortune in selling produce during the Civil War.

As the years went on, Rockefeller realized that the oil business was lucrative enough and that he could become rich if he invested his money. He sold all of his ventures and began working with oil. As his fortune accrued, he paid his people a fair wage, but his critics weren't happy. They claimed he could have paid them more and had less money for himself. Generally though, his employees were grateful to have work and found the wages they were paid to be fair.

In 1937, before his death, Rockefeller gave away almost half his fortune. he donated money to universities, centers for the arts, churches and medical foundations. Some say he donated this money because he felt guilty for not paying his employees enough, while others claimed he did it strictly out of goodwill.